Kimishima on third-party support for Switch, could increase production if demand is high, more
Following Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing earlier in the week, Nintendo shared the full Q&A that took place with investors. However, just like always, it’s only available in Japanese initially. The English translation will likely be posted sometime next week.
In the meantime, Cheesemeister and Takashi Mochizuki have been providing a few unofficial translations. Head past the break for Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima’s comments on third-party support for Switch as well as other tidbits.
The Nintendo Switch intro video gives me high hopes for the software lineup. How will you apply the lessons of the Wii U, in pricing? Also, why do you think you were able to get the cooperation of third-parties on Nintendo Switch that didn’t support the Wii U?
Because we’re not announcing specs today, I can’t compare Nintendo Switch to the Wii U. As the name indicates, it allows you to “switch” your gameplay experience, while the Wii U offers a different type of experience. In terms of price, as I said before, we will not sell at a loss. We want people of all ages to play Nintendo’s products, so we will take customers’ valuation of our products into account. In terms of third-party support, they understand Nintendo Switch offers different surprises than standard consoles, so many indicated that they would actively support it. Also, following the intro video, even more software makers have expressed interest in developing for it.
The Nintendo Switch had been billed as a new way to play games, but judging by the intro video, it looks like it just plays existing games in different places. Could you please give us your impressions of the Nintendo Switch, including what’s new about it?
In regard to the question about what’s new, I cannot provide any specs beyond what was shown in the intro video. As I’m part of a generation of older video game players, I think that it’s difficult to offer software that satisfies my generation. We do have plans, including an applicable software lineup, for things not shown in the video, so I’m personally very much looking forward to it. I hope that everyone is able to try it out this January.
Watching the NintendoSwitch into video, it looked more fashionable than any previous consoles and looked aimed at gamers, not families. Should we expect that the launch software lineup will be targeted at hardcore gamers as well? You said that you’re aiming for all ages so I’d like to hear your software strategy.
This video primarily introduced the unique characteristics of “anytime, anywhere, with anyone.” While there were some hints as to the software for Nintendo Switch, we’re not ready to give the whole picture. I think you’ll first be able to understand what new experiences it offers with its integration of hardware and software when you see the software lineup this January, and actually try it out. I think you’ll be able to feel how Nintendo Switch appeals to all kinds of customers, of all ages.
Regarding the smart device business, I’d like to know why Super Mario Run will go on sale before the previously-announced Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem. Also, with the success of Pokemon GO, are there any mid-term changes to the dir. of smart device activities?
At the start of the fiscal year, we announced that 5 smart device apps would be released by the end of March 2017. Super Mario Run is one of them. Afterwards, development circumstances led us to confirm their release within the year, and so we reconsidered the order. As Pokemon GO is supported by many customers, in this case, we decided it might be better for Super Mario Run to go before the others. While there was a big unknown as to how the smart device business would affect our existing business, it was extremely encouraging to see Pokemon GO provide synergy with packaged software just as we’d imagined. In this way, we’d like to strengthen how we develop smart device titles. Of course, our basic thinking on the smart device business hasn’t changed from the 3 points outlined in today’s presentation.
Finally, we have a few extra details:
– Contribution from Pokémon Co. was not just Pokémon Go but also trading cards as well
– Can’t talk about that today, when asked who Switch and smart device would interact each other
– How to see fruits from its recent aggressive steps in two to three year’s time
– Can increase production of Switch from current 2 million plan this FY if demand shown strong at events
